ROCHESTER — Truancy issues, regarding excessive student tardiness and absenteeism, have been on the tips of many tongues lately with the Rochester Police Department’s recent controversial announcement they will charge families with violations for their children’s behavior.

Rochester police’s prosecution department has designed a new system where families with the worst offending students could be issued court summonses early next year, with large monetary fines. Parents called in for a court arraignment may opt to plead guilty and pay a fine or take the department’s “diversion program” with their children instead, for a nominal sum. The program would entail attending four 1-hour classes focused on the importance of being in school.

Rochester Police Det. Steve Gahan has been the visionary behind the new system, along with Lt. Anne Gould in the prosecution office. Asked about the Rochester School Board’s recent consideration to possibly start school at a later time, however, Gahan said he doesn’t believe a possible shift in start times will help change students’ behavior. He is more confident in the diversion program having direct effects in that area.

Dan Harkinson, a Rochester School Board member who recommended the formation of an ad hoc committee to analyze starting school later in the Lilac City, said although his team’s discussion has touched on the potential benefits influencing truant behavior, he doesn’t “want to oversell it.”

“I’ve read at this point in some districts across the nation where a later start time has been implemented, attendance has improved somewhat,” Harkinson said. “…I haven’t seen a study yet that says a later start time solves all truancy problems, though there are some indications in the research that says, yes, it could have an appreciable impact.”

The Portsmouth Police Department recently reported they have been taking truancy issues in their city very seriously. Deputy Police Chief Corey McDonald said so far this year, his department has made several house calls to parents who report they can’t get their children out of bed for school. He said the local school resource officer (SRO) has made about six house calls, and patrol officers have made approximately another six since the start of the school year.

“We’re firm believers that the community depicts the policing they want and what it considers to be priorities,” McDonald said. “If the community says to us they want this to be a priority…, then of course, we’ll make that a priority.”

Regarding the Rochester police’s new diversion program, or even starting times later in school districts, McDonald said he couldn’t directly comment on those procedures, though having any system in place can be beneficial.

“It’s not for me to say whether that’s appropriate for our city…, but it would be helpful to have something in place to sort of address some of the underlying issues that cause those (truancy) problems,” he said.

In Somersworth, police uphold a town ordinance that fines students, ages 12 to 17, $25 for their first truancy offense, and $100 subsequently, according to Police Capt. Russell Timmons. He estimated the ordinance was put into place around 2005.

“The ordinance was designed to try to convince something positive in the way of these truant students to get them back into school,” Timmons said. “At the time, I’m not sure what our percentages of truancy were but the school was concerned enough where it had come to light and they had asked for law enforcement assistance. As a result of that, we were in a position to create this ordinance and we did see a tremendous change in the rate of truancy when it first presented itself.”

Asked about Rochester’s new idea, for charging parents, Timmons said he was skeptical how local families would respond to something like that in his community.

Many Rochester residents have already emailed Foster’s saying they don’t feel the police department’s program is fair, and several students at Spaulding High School previously told a reporter they didn’t want their parents to get in trouble for their actions.

Timmons said at least in Somersworth, holding students accountable for their actions has worked.

“Truancy is something that has to be placed at eye level for people to realize the consequences of not educating these children,” he said. “But it doesn’t fall back on the parents, the way our ordinance is written. It’s the responsibility of the students to pay the fine.”